Boma Achenimie 
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday raised the interest by 50 basis points to 26.75 per cent from 26.25 per cent in May 2024.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso made the announcement at a press briefing at the end of the two-day 296th MPC in Abuja.
According to the CBN governor, the decision to further increase the interest rate is to tackle the country’s rising core inflation and food inflation which stood at 34.19 per cent and 40.87 per cent, respectively in June.
He added that the members of the MPC are not oblivious of the need to address the rising prices of food in Nigeria, necessitating the interest rate hike.
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The implication of the interest rate hike is that businesses, farmers, manufacturers and investors will have to pay more to get loans from banks.
The 296th MPC meeting is the fourth time the interest rate has been increased since the appointment of Cardoso in September last year.
New Telegraph recalls that in May 2023, when President Bola Tinubu was inaugurated, Nigeria’s interest rate stood at 18.75 per cent while inflation rate stood at 22.41 per cent.
Meanwhile, analysts had called for a pause in the hike of the interest rate.
The Director of the Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, backed call for a pause in the hike of the interest rate.
According to him, the monetary instruments have been overstretched, hence not productive.
“I think we have overstretched monetary instruments because of inflation. They should put a pause on interest rate hikes,” he said.
